Where to Begin

I was looking over my most recent projects and trying to figure out where I want to go. I've got two manuscripts about a third done, one done, but needs heavy editing (as in a complete rewrite) and three others that need lighter editing. I've also got at least four other manuscripts I should look at to see if I can do anything with them. And three short stories that are done and ready to go, but I've had trouble finding a home for them.

So where do I begin?

Which one do I work on first?

Maybe I'll assign each of them a number and leave it to a turn of the cards? Or throw them out on the floor and see which one comes out on top? Or do it alphabetically by title? Or by date finished? Or...

Yeah, I know. Silly. The point is not which one to start, but just to start.

I'll let you know which one gets my attention.

Today's challenge: Use the word "hornswoggle" in a contemporary scene between two best friends.

Something to be thankful for

Here in the states, we are getting ready for the celebration of overeating and family gatherings tomorrow, also known as Thanksgiving.

For this year, I've been having trouble finding things to be thankful for this year. My husband and eldest son will shortly be out of jobs as their company was bought out by one who is cutting nearly 300 positions in our small town. My son-in-law lost his job. My mother-in-law struggles with dementia which is causing my husband (only child) and myself no end of stress. My brother called last night to inform me that the pain he's been having in his shoulder is due to cracked vertebrae in his neck and he's now possibly looking at surgery. My last two manuscripts have yet to find a home. And I've been fighting bronchitis for the last two weeks.

Great, yes?

No. BUT....

I also know I do have things to be grateful for, and I am. I have a wonderful husband who supports my dreams and does what he can to help me reach them. I have four wonderful kids and two incredible grandkids who are the lights of my life. I have a warm house and friends and food to eat. Yes, I'm coughing my lungs out, but I have a good doctor and medication to help. I have books with my name on them and an editor who is wonderful to work with.

There is more, but that's enough for now. So I leave you with this... every day in our lives, we face challenges and problems. It is how we face those challenges that shows who and what we are.

To bring this around to writing... as writers, we must challenge our characters. We must throw everything at them, and see how they react. Hopefully, with honor, if they are our heroes and heroines. Or even villains, because every good villain should have a shred of good in him somewhere. :)

So to all of you, if you are celebrating the day tomorrow, have a great day. And even if you aren't, make it a day to be grateful for.

Words, words, words, words...

I am reading a book entitled "Reading the OED" by Ammon Shea. Its' about a man who took one year to read the Oxford English Dictionary. All 21,730 pages of it, "from a to zyzzogeton (a large South American leaf hopper)" For those who don't know, the OED is *the* dictionary. I saw a set one time - and was awed by the sheer volume of words and their etymology. But to read the entire set?

Wow. While I have always had a love of words, and attempted at various times in my life to read a dictionary or even encyclopedia, I never got all the way to the end. But Ammon Shea did. And the OED is not some little novel you can hold in your hand. It is 20 large volumes. I am envious (and I'm certain there is a better word, but this one works for me!) but not so much that I would undertake such an onerous endeavor.

But it is fun reading the new words - most of which are actually old words no longer in use. And if you are any kind of wordsmith, or you just enjoy words, take a look at this book. It could turn you into a vocabularian. Or not.

Today's challenge: Use the word artolater (a worshipper of bread) in a scene

Science Fiction Lives

I just finished watching the Star Trek movie that originally came out last spring. I don't do theaters so had to wait for it to come out on DVD. I have been a huge fan of ST since the first series hit TV (yes, I've been around that long). But then, I was a huge fan of anything science fiction. I have been since I read my first science fiction book. Until then, I was hard core into Nancy Drew (and other young girl mysteries) as well as books about horses (Black Beauty, Black Stallion, Misty, etc.).

While I continued to read mysteries - and still do - as well as other genres, science fiction became my first love. And when I could watch the stories unfold on television and in the movies, I was in heaven.

Today, that love affair continues. I love anything to do with looking to things that might be. To imagine the future, or return to the past. To fly to the stars. To meet other beings. To create gadgets that may one day really exist. Or to dream up things that may never be, but are just fun to think up. Can there be anything better?

Today, I read just about anything. Part of my job working at a bookstore is to read books (hard job that!). The large majority of ARCs we get in are literary novels - not my first choice. Or even my fifth. But I do read them, and have read some very good ones that I've enjoyed immensely. But my first love, and the ones I gravitate to first, will always be science fiction and fantasy books.

So, thank you Jules Verne and Ray Bradbury and, especially, Gene Roddenberry. You, and many others, have given me many hours of enjoyment. And, I'm happy to say, I've passed the legacy on to my offspring.

Today's Challenge: Use these in a scene: jogger, electrician, statue of a sphinx

Switching Stories

Several times, I've read about other writers who hit a wall, also known as writer's block. They're stuck. They don't know where the story is going. The plot isn't working out. The characters are all wrong. They're not sure what is wrong, but something is and they can't write. So they don't.

Uh-oh. Therein lies the slippery slope that can lead to disaster.

I've hit that wall several times myself. But rather than quit writing, I switch stories. Sometimes, I switch entire genres. I go from writing fiction to non-fiction. From full novel to short story. From romance to fantasy. Or even just from one story to another - though admittedly, I don't do this often. It's too easy to get similar stories mixed up.

The point is, to not quit writing. To write something every day. Even if it's only the fifty words I wrote about yesterday. But to really jumpstart your brain, it should be something totally different. You might be surprised at what you come up with. And then you can go back to your blocked story with a fresh perspective.

Today's challenge: Your friend talks you into going to see a palm reader. At first, she smiles, then gasps and backs away from you. What is wrong?

Setting Goals

I was at a writer's workshop yesterday and, while the speaker was interesting, most of the workshop was mostly useless for me as all the other participants had never written anything and needed the basics. Which is fine - we all have to start somewhere. I wish I'd known about things like this when I started. And, although a large portion of the class was repeating what I already know, sometimes that's not a bad thing. It reminds you of things you might have forgotten or shuffled off to one side.

One of those things was that writers need to set goals. This is something we stress at my monthly writer's group meetings. And it is echoed at many other groups and loops I belong to. And it is the one thing many of us fail to do.

What does a goal do for you? It gives you something concrete to aim for. It forces you to take responsibility for something - whether it is writing, or something to do with another aspect of your life. My local writer's group just finished a challenge we called 50/50 - the goal was to write a minimum of fifty words a day for fifty days. You were allowed to take two days a week off, but no more. We posted our word counts each day and one of the members put them in a spreadsheet to be tallied at the end of the fifty days. It was interesting to listen to the word counts reached. Though we were aiming for a minimum of 2500 words, almost every person participating more than doubled that. And several came in at more than ten times the count.

The goal wasn't to see who could write the most, but to get us writing on a daily basis. And we did. So many times, I and others would sit down, just not in the mindset to write - but the challenge - and the goal - was there. Write the fifty words. Then fifty became 100. And 200. And more.

So, to you I present this challenge: what are your goals? Post one of them here. Since this is a writing column, I'd prefer it to be writing related, but I'll take what I can get. And I'll even start you off. My goal is to blog, or tweet every day for the next month.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street

Happy 40th birthday to Sesame Street - a show that has taught millions of children, and their parents, about the alphabet, number, different cultures and languages, and so much more. I watched it with my children, and now get to see it with my grandchildren. And sometimes, I even watch it without a kid around.

I remember giggling when Big Bird was trying to convince everyone that Snuffleupagus existed. And crying when Mr. Hooper died. I still sing "Rubber Ducky" and "Ladybug Picnic", but I admit, I've never gotten The Count's laugh right - though my son has. :)

Like everything that has endured, the show has gone through many evolutions. Characters have come and gone, though some of the originals still are there. And like anyone who has been with something from the beginning, there are things I miss, new aspects I don't care for, and others that I love. One thing I do love is that Sesame Street is still there. Still teaching the alphabet and numbers and other cultures and more.

So here's to you, Sesame Street. May you continue for another 40 years... and longer.

author Marta Perry

I just got home from a booksigning by Marta Perry for her new book "Leah's Choice" - I admit, I have not yet read the book, but I will be. As well as any others by this wonderful lady. She was a good speaker and so nice. If you read Amish based or Inspirational books, I recommend you pick up something of hers. And if you get the chance to meet her, or attend a book talk/signing, do so. You won't be disappointed.